Instincts of Blue
by keeperofwords
Summary: Skye is the "The Blue". The blue eyed wolf shifter leads her pack in the sacred forest of Ulf. The people of Nadir kill her kind and claim the sacred forest. Her blood has burned since her sister's murder. Nightly, she roams the forest turning predator to prey. One night, she encounters a Naidrean red haired female that changes both their lives. Story is a Skye/ Natasha R pairing.
1. Chapter 1

This is a romantic fantasy novel with characters based on Marvel Universe is a wolf shapeshifter story. They call their kind, "Ulf". It started some time back as Xena story. I have since changed it to fit the Marvel Universe. It contains female/ female relationships of an adult nature and some violence. If either of these are not your thing, please go read another story.

Pairings are as follows Skye/young adult Natasha

Melinda/ Maria

Please send me your thoughts and a review!

This story is mostly complete and I plan weekly updates on week-ends!

Never fear, I have not abandoned any of my other stories. Each are very important to me and I have plans for each.

 **"Instincts of Blue"**

 _"Instincts"_

 _Driven by a reflex_

 _Snared by nature's way_

 _Bound by timeless urges_

 _Human or am I beast?_

 _Survival of the fittest_

 _Standing under the Moon_

 _Hear my wolf cry echo_

 _Resounding into my soul_

In the year 3278, the people of Nadir moved out the plains of Adean into the forests of Eyulf, home of the Ulf . The old ones still whisper that the trees there turn to wolves in the sacred forests. But the stories are old and mostly forgotten in Nadir.

 **Chapter 1: "The Encounter"**

The lone she wolf hid herself in the darkness as she tracked her prey under the yellow moon. Only her blue eyes stood out among the scrubby pines that had been her home and that of her mother and grandmother before her. Her coat, a dark ebony, stood bushy and full as the cold season drew near.

Tonight, as on so many others in her life of twenty cycles, she hunted the Nadir, the invaders of the sacred forest the killers of her sister Lai.

While her pack rested this night savoring the dusk kill of wild boar, the she wolf roamed the night in restless anger. If her scouting proved fruitful, she would lead her pack here tomorrow night in a feast of Nadirean blood. She lifted her nose high and sniffed the chilly air. The wolf's blue eyes became narrow slits as she raised her head proudly and bayed at the still rising moon. The war-god Ares blessed her diligence. A new group of humans had desecrated the sacred woods of Ulf. Their odor was obnoxious amidst the sweet smelling pines.

Skye, taller and more agile than the most of her pack, jumped easily to an overhanging tree branch. She called once more hoping the one she left in charge heard her cry of success. Even if her Ulf cousins with the red coats heard her, it mattered not. She would see the death of all those with Nadirean blood or die trying. The red wolf, Drad, called back in friendly warning. The kill was theirs, he warned in short high yips. Though displeased with red wolf's attitude and lack of honor among the Ulf, she answered with a howl of congratulations and moved closer to watch the slaughter. Interference would breach the sacred rule of conduct among the Ulf kind and even joining the skirmish could mean her own challenge among the red wolf shifters. With so many brothers and sisters already lost to the trespassers, she contented herself with watching in the shadows.

Skye inched closer to the tents as she listened to the cries of surprise and pain. Drad's pack had lost even more to the Nadireans than her own family. Her code of honor would have compelled her to leave the women and children. Drad did not share that belief, and Skye watched coldly as her cousins tore at the throats of young and old alike _. No Nadirean would live to resettle here,_ she thought to herself, turning to head back into the inky darkness.

A yelp from one of her cousins caused her to turn her head. A petite young human fought valiantly to defend a fallen old couple's bodies. _The girl's parents_? The she wolf wondered. She moved her body a bit closer to watch the boldness of this Nadirean who swatted at her cousin with a staff of wood. The Nadirean showed courage she would expect only from an Ulf. The human was tiring, and her cousins had begun to circle the girl and the two bodies.

An uncomfortable feeling rose in the she-wolf's chest as she watched a red furred wolf begin to tear at the carcasses and nip at the girl's limbs. Skye's fur stood high on her back and an instinctual growl begun in the back of her throat. As Drad circled behind the girl to make the final strike on the throat, the she wolf leapt in the air. Hurtling over the Nadirean, she landed squarely on the back of red wolf alpha wolf. She bit down hard, and both rolled in the dust and scattered the pack who circled the girl. Drad's dark eyes gleamed yellow as he threw off the she wolf and bit down on the shoulder of the human, who tried helplessly to protect the two dismembered carcasses from further injury. Skye twisted as she fell and landed on her four legs. She charged again as the young redhead fell unconscious on the two bodies.

Her cry of battle echoed in the caverns of the forest as her jaws found her cousins and she clamped down. _By all that is sacred, I will kill you Drad_ , the she wolf sent a message in his mind as she whipped her head back and forth digging her teeth in tighter. _Let her go and be gone, she is mine now and you cannot have her_ , she added as she lifted her body through the air. She hung onto Drad and propelled them forward into the forest's edge. As their injured leader scampered away into the forest, the red coats began a retreat. Skye bared her teeth to the red wolf shifter who she would now call enemy.

" _I will kill you and control both the red and black of Ulf_ ," a rasping voice sounded in the she wolf's head.

Skye refused to answer and instead threw up her head and throat to the night sky and let her own voice echo again through the sacred Forest. She padded over to the young red haired female. Skye watched anxiously for the rise and fall of the chest. The chest rose slowly and the black wolf relaxed.

 _What have you just gotten yourself into_? Skye asked herself as she paced back and forth trying to figure out her next move. Never before had she placed herself in a position to doubt her actions in battle. _Well, I am not going to start now_ , she sounded off in her head. She blinked her blue eyes twice and looked straight at the yellow moon.

Standing tall and erect on her bare feet, Skye's closed her eyes again and opened slowly. Her long dark hair blew carelessly in the wind seeming to try to wrap itself around her naked human frame. She stooped down quickly and picked up the smaller body. She gently wrapped her arms around it tightly letting the smaller head tuck under her chin and began the long walk back to her pack's home in the next pass.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to those of you who are reading, following and for the reviews. They feed my muse. Thanks for giving this very different Marvel Agents of Shield AU story a try. I will try to update weekly.

Send me a Review!

Chapter 2 "Mark of Ulf"

Skye tightened her hold on the figure in her arms as she stepped purposefully into the warm waters of the Kildyr that paralleled the pack's encampment. She knew that any trace of Nadirean scent would send her pack over the edge into a primal rage. Sitting in the shallows, she lowered the body to her lap and stripped off the bloody, torn garments. Each sodden piece floated downwards to the sandy bottom as Skye cupped the holy waters of cleansing over the injured body and softly scrubbed away the dirt and grime. _Not so young_ , she thought to herself, as she took in the feminine curves on the small frame with the blazing red hair.

As the blood and dirt were washed away, her gaze focused sharply on the curve of one breast. "The mark of Ulf," she whispered in awe. She took her index finger and traced over the dark symbol on the fair skin above the woman's left breast and swallowed reflexively. From countless hours in her childhood spent listening to tales around the campfire, Skye knew many stories concerning the mark. _How has this Naderian come to be marked by the gods_?

Standing carefully and pulling the wet body closer to her own bronzed skin, Skye plucked a crimson tunic from where she had hooked it on a low hanging branch, and draped it over her hard-won possession. She smiled as she thoroughly rubbed the garment over the lithe body before wrapping it around her prize. There would be no doubt of the young one's ownership; nor could her packs question the mark of Ulf. Taking a deep breath, she crossed the waters to the wall of rocks that guarded the Ulf perimeters.

The scent of the young woman's Nadirean blood filled Skye's nostrils as the warm crimson flow began to soak through the tunic. Skye heard the cries of outrage in her head even before she reached the inner circle of the campfire. " _Back_ ," she mentally directed her wolf pack who abandoned the boar's carcass in hopes of a tastier, more satisfying treat. Her own teeth bared instinctively as she protectively nestled the Nadirean closer on her muscular shoulder.

Skye was the strongest in the clan; her leadership had always been viewed as wise, and her loyalty to her own, undisputed. But the presence of the enemy that had killed their kind and destroyed their forest home for generations was too much for even the calmest to dismiss. The instinct to protect their home and kill their enemy was compelling. Skye crouched defensively, ready to kick her sisters away from the small form. Though in human form, she bared her teeth again in a loud, guttural growl, and the hackles on the back of her neck began to rise.

Skye sensed movement behind her, and out of the corner of her eye she watched as a blue-eyed black moved quietly to her side. Seeming to ignore the confrontation and the participants, the elder blue-eyed wolf tilted her head upwards and sniffed at the camp's unwelcome visitor, watching the injured female closely. The wolf's eyes flickered at the sight of blood beginning to seep through the tunic. Then, making a decision, the black wolf shape-shifted before the crowd's eyes. The shapely nude woman with dark black hair and now brown eyes stood upright. With a gentle touch, Melinda, mother of Skye, peeled back the tunic, seeking the wound's source. The flow of blood slowed but did not stop as the cool air made contact with the red headed Nadirean's bared chest.

" _She needs treatment now, daughter, and this delay does not aid her chance of survival. She needs to survive, Skye_ ," Melinda, matriarch of the Blacks, Skye's mother and the pack's healer projected to her child.

"Stand down," Melinda spoke to both the crowd and her daughter. "Sisters, your blood boils so hot, you miss what any Ulf eye can see." The retired Lupus spoke boldly and bluntly. Brown almond eyes connected before the older Blue moved once more to Skye's side, taking a half-step back.

"Just look!" Skye spoke with a voice as cool and crisp as the Kildyr River. She tilted the Nadirean in her arms towards the moonlight, then threw off the tunic.

" _The mark, she carries the mark_ ," Maria, brown and black colored wolf projected to the pack. Maria pushed through the line of brash young adolescents who had been ready to attack their leader moments before.

Maria moved closer, narrowing her wolf eyes as she padded forward to stand a few feet in front of Skye. Maria turned her head to look at a small female, barely an adolescent. " _Jemma, tell me what you see_ ," Maria directed mentally, as the young brown-peppered female shyly moved forward in the growing crowd of young and old alike.

" _It's like Skye's_ ," Jemma muttered, amazement echoing in her thought projection, unaware that most of the pack had not known something she had seen all her life and had just innocently revealed to them.

As a cub, Skye had felt the sign would make her stand out even more amongst her people than just her being daughter of the Blue already did. All the other wolves in her pack, minus her mother had fur that was brown and black in color. None were blue eyed with black fur like she and her mother. That characteristic was reserved for the Lupi, the Blue, the female leadership of the shifter pack, the Blacks. None would shift at will like Skye and her mother could. Skye was, as her mother before her, "The Blue". Being the daughter of the Blue, like her mother Melinda, Skye had been groomed her whole life to lead her pack. She always looked at her mark as a sign from the gods of her special calling in the clan. Skye saw it as a designation she had spent her whole life trying to live up to. But Skye wanted her people to follow her because they respected her, and not for the mark of the gods upon her chest. So, except when she was with family, like her niece Jemma, she had always hidden the marking carefully behind her tunic or beneath her hair, sensing the gods would make known to her when it was time for its revelation. That time had come.

Skye turned to her mother and gently placed her bundle in Melinda's arms still strong despite her age. She sprang from the ground to the sacred rock, comfortable in her nakedness. As the reigning leader of the Blacks, Skye stood proudly facing the gathering, her stance had an air of superiority. Her brown eyes shifted powerfully back to blue in color as a reminder to her pack of her alpha status. Skye's blue blazed as she whipped her dark hair to one side to uncover her chest. Skye smiled at the mental gasps of shock she heard as she exposed her right breast, and the mark of Ulf. Her authority of place was clearly affirmed.

"Bobbi, double the guards on the perimeters and come to my cave at high moon," Skye spoke, as she gave her second mother, Maria, a grateful nod. Carefully she accepted the injured female from her mother back into her arms, then strode purposefully into her lair.


	3. Chapter 3 Blood Bond

Thanks for those who are reading, following and have sent me a review. They really feed my muse.

I want to give you a quick cast of Marvel characters and there place in this story so far.

Skye- the leader of the Black shape shifter wolf pack. She can shift at will to a black furred blue eyed wolf. This characteristic is passed on in her familial line called "The Blue". Though she has a younger sister, she was the cub that manifested black fur and blue eyes while shifted. Her formal title is "Lupis". She carries the mark of Ulf.

Tasha(Natasha)- redhead green eyed mate of Skye. She carries the mark of Ulf showing she is marked special by the gods. Soulmate of Skye.

Melinda-Mother of Skye. She is also "The Blue" and led the pack till she stepped down to let her daughter assume the position of leadership. She retains her ability to shift at will and is much stronger and faster than other wolf shifters in her pack. She is second in status to Skye and her pack respects her as such. She is a black furred blue eyed wolf when she shifts.

Maria- Mate of Melinda May and Skye's second mother. She shifts into a wolf at nightly and cannot change at will.

Monica- Aunt of Skye and younger sister of Melinda. She cannot shift at will only at night.

Jemma- first cousin of Skye. She cannot shift at will only at night.

Bobbi- Skye's second and in charge of the pack of fighter/soldiers. She is third in command under first Skye and then Melinda. She cannot shift at will, only at night.

Lai- original character. Skye's deceased little sister. She was killed by the Nadireans.

More characters from AOS and the Marvel Universe in general will show as the story unfolds.

Feed the Muse Please!

 **Chapter 3 "Blood Bond"**

"Daughter?" Melinda called as she entered her daughter's cave.

"Mother, come in," Skye beckoned over her shoulder from where she knelt. She removed a cloth saturated with blood and quickly replaced it with a clean one.

The matriarch of the Blue strode gracefully into the cave with a healer's herb pouch in her hand. "Your Aunt Monica will be here in a moment," Melinda spoke aloud as she knelt beside her daughter, looking down at the pale form that lay on her daughter's furs.

"She has lost a lot of blood," Skye murmured, pulling off yet another sanguine bandage and pressing a fresh one firmly on the wound.

"May I?" Melinda asked politely, easing the bloody cloth up gently before speaking. "The wound is down to the muscle, I see." She reached for another compress and pressed it into the badly mauled shoulder.

"Even if I stitch the muscle together and close the skin, she may never use the arm again," Skye told her mother with a matter of factness. "That is, if she does not die from fever or blood loss, first," Skye added gravely as she picked up her thread to begin the delicate process.

Not disputing her daughter's words, Melinda reached into her healer's pouch and pulled out some finely ground herbs which she sprinkled liberally on the wound. "That will slow the bleeding," she said softly.

" _Skye, this one must live_!" Monica, an elder of the pack and her mother's little sister, projected emphatically as she trotted to stand at her niece's side. " _The fate of our clan and the Nadireans may depend on the two of you...Your blood..._ "

" _Nooooooo_!" Skye interrupted loudly with a projection of her own. " _She is a Nadir_..."

" _Child, she carries the mark_ ," Monica countered insistently.

" _The reactions of the intermingling_ …" Skye objected.

"Are unknown on her kind, Skye," Melinda interrupted. "Will you take her as mate? Choose quickly," Melinda implored, knowing the ramifications of what her younger sister was proposing

Skye ceased her ministrations to the pale red-head's body and closed her blue eyes. She exhaled a ragged breath and reflected on what she thought was not a choice, but a demand placed upon her by her heart. She wanted this Nadirean to live. There would be consequences, but so be it. She would perform the blood bonding.

Skye opened her eyes and picked up the blue-jeweled knife that her mother held in an open palm. It had been passed down by her mother and her mother's mother. The knife trembled in her hand as she remembered her baby sister Lai. "Lai," she whispered as she let the knife graze her right wrist, and her blood began to flow.

She quickly lowered her hand to the mauled shoulder and placed the incision against the torn flesh. As her dark red blood mixed into the wound, images flashed into her mind.

" _Skye, what is it_?" Monica projected still in her wolf form, as she watched her normally stoic niece gasp aloud and tears come to her eyes.

"I, I, I…" she stuttered aloud as she tried to make sense of her feelings.

Sensing an exchange between the signed ones, Melinda sent a private projection to her daughter. " _Open your mind to the images, my child. I will sew the torn muscle_." As a highly skilled healer, Melinda began the tedious task.

"Dab some of her blood on your cut," Monica entreated, as she looked into her niece's still shocked countenance. "We must follow the law to the letter for the blood bonding to be valid," she reminded her sister's child.

Skye nodded, rubbing the lighter shade of blood into the incision in her wrist before dipping it in the cleansing holy waters of the Kildyr, which sat in a bowl beside her.

Melinda sensitively prodded her middle child who still had a faraway look in her brown eyes. "Close the skin, daughter." Ready to assist if needed, she watched Skye stitch the skin together and bandage it with a filmy white cloth.

Skye raised the bearskin over the young woman's body before turning back to her patiently waiting mother and uncle. She spoke aloud to them. "Her name is Tasha."

Monica looked up at her with a curious stare, while Melinda shook her head woodenly.

Skye was caught up in her amazement, and did not notice the faraway look in her mother's eyes. "I saw her life. I feel this, this..."

"Connection?" Melinda asked knowingly, her mental powers having sensed the melding between the two who bore the sign of Ulf. She looked up quickly at the stars and quietly fingered her patient's brilliant rare red hair. _Past becomes present_ , she thought to herself. In time, she would have a story to share with her child.

"Yes." Skye paused, rubbing her temple, still feeling the after-effects of the mental barrage. "It overwhelmed me at first."

" _Skye, look at me. You need to be strong now. Your pack needs you and will look to you for guidance_." Melinda spoke with her mind, taking her daughter's wrist and bandaging it with a mother's touch. "She will need you, and you will need her," Melinda added aloud, softening her voice and bending to kiss her daughter's cheek.

" _What we sought out as a means of healing has had a consequence beyond that of taking a blood mate_ ," Monica projected. " _She will need you_."

"I need to speak to the pack," Skye spoke in a voice that sounded more like herself. "They need to know of her condition, and what measures I have taken to save her." Supporting the wounded red head's shoulders, the Lupus lifted a cup of the Kildyr's healing waters to the pale, dry lips.

"We will see you by the night fires," Melinda spoke to her daughter, standing up and patting her daughter's shoulder before she exited the lair with her sister.

Skye gently placed the girl's head back on the pallet of furs, and then moved the wooden cup to her side. Gathering up her healer's wares, she murmured softly, "Rest easy, little she-wolf." She caught herself as the words spilled from her mouth. The name she had used was an endearment meant for one that was special, while the redhead who slept on her furs was a stranger.

The Lupus shook her head incredulously. After the connection they had shared when their blood mixed, the redhead no longer felt like a stranger.

She stood, and turned to poke her head out of the cave. "Jemma!" she called aloud amidst the unusual hush amongst the Black Ulf. Skye ignored the anxious brown stares from the wolves that paced around the fires. She knew all waited and wondered about the Nadirean marked as Ulf. She wondered herself. The time had come for her sisters to know of her cousin's lack of honor and the rift that now existed between the Red and the Black.

Skye moved out into the cool night air, looked at the moon, then closed her brown eyes. Changing form, she now stood as a beautiful black furred wolf with blue eyes. She was the Blue, leader of her pack. Skye opened them as Jemma bounded up to her. She loved Jemma, so like Lai, always eager to please. The she-wolf shook her black coat before meeting the adolescent wolf's gaze.

" _Could you stay with her for a while_?" Skye projected to her first cousin as she turned to look once more at the pale, quiet Nadirean. " _I need to talk with the pack and tell them about my new mate._ "

" _Aw, Skye_ " Jemma complained, " _I am part of the pack, too, you know. I'll miss everything._ "

" _Jemma, I promise I will tell you all about it myself when I get back_ ," the she-wolf vowed with a swish of her tail. " _This is even more important than the meeting, cousin. I am counting on you to watch her and call to me if there is any change in her condition_."

" _What if she wakes up and sees_."

" _She won't; I just gave her some herbs to let her rest_ ," Skye reassured her cousin with a lick to his brown cheek. " _I trust you, little cub, above all my greatest hunters, to protect her and keep her safe_."

" _You can count on me_!" Jemma yelled into Skye's mind with his usual youthful zeal as she pranced into the cave's interior. " _Just remember, you promised to tell me what happens_."

The amusement reflected in the she-wolf's blue eyes melted rapidly as she turned to her unpleasant task, and let her blue eyes fall upon the sisters of her pack where they gathered by the fire. Nodding to her aunt,, Skye moved toward the blaze. Her second, Bobbi, followed her from a respectful two paces back. Skye knew that life in the forest would never be the same.


	4. Chapter 4 Pack Meeting

Another Chapter of Instincts of Blue. Thanks to you who are reading. Thanks for supporting the story through follows, favors and reviews.

 **JUST A REMINDER**

 **Cast of Marvel Characters-**

Skye- the leader of the Black shape shifter wolf pack. She can shift at will to a black furred blue eyed wolf. This characteristic is passed on in her familial line called "The Blue". Though she has a younger sister, she was the cub that manifested black fur and blue eyes while shifted. Her formal title is "Lupis". She carries the mark of Ulf.

Tasha (Natasha)- redhead green eyed mate of Skye. She carries the mark of Ulf showing she is marked special by the gods. Soulmate of Skye.

Melinda-Mother of Skye. She is also "The Blue" and led the pack till she stepped down to let her daughter assume the position of leadership. She retains her ability to shift at will and is much stronger and faster than other wolf shifters in her pack. She is second in status to Skye and her pack respects her as such. She is a black furred blue eyed wolf when she shifts.

Maria- Mate of Melinda May and Skye's second mother. She shifts into a wolf at nightly and cannot change at will.

Monica- Aunt of Skye and younger sister of Melinda. She cannot shift at will only at night.

Jemma- first cousin of Skye. She cannot shift at will only at night.

Bobbi- Skye's second and in charge of the pack of fighter/soldiers. She is third in command under first Skye and then Melinda. She cannot shift at will, only at night.

Lai- original character. Skye's deceased little sister. She was killed by the Nadireans. (OC)

Drad- male leader of a fellow wolf shifters known as the Reds (OC)

Nala- shifter pack member of the "Blacks", the group of shifter led by Skye (OC)

Sari- shifter pack member of the "Blacks", the group of Shifters led by Skye (OC)

 **Notation** \- Conversations spoken telepathically are shown in italics

 **Phrases-**

Lupus- title of the female current leader of the Black Shifter Pack.

Lupi- title of "The Blue" matriarch and second in command of the Blacks.

"The Black"- the unique royal bloodline of the family of black wolf shifters. They (unlike their

Sisters who are parti color brown/ black with brown eyes) are striking black in color and have blue eyes when shifted into their wolf form.

Ulf noun to name a wolf/ human shapeshifter

Kildyr- sacred river to all of the Ulf packs. It is believed it has healing properties.

 **Chapter 4 "Pack Meeting**

 **"** " _They have no honor_ ," Maria projected in her wolf form as she looked thoughtfully into the crackling fire as the shifter reflected on tonight's revelations.

" _Drad did not know of the mark when he struck he_ r," Skye countered quickly in defense of her red relative, "I told you all somehow I just knew to stop him." The young leader of the Blacks projected to her sisters in her pack as she walked to the wild boar's carcass and took a deep bite and chewed softly.

" _The Reds always have flirted with the rules in our code of life_ ," Melinda May in her black furred blue eyed wolf form projected with disdain. The senior Blue moved to stand beside her mate and nuzzled her head against the side of Maria's head.

" _Only to suit their needs_ ," Bobbi projected as the pack communicated as they fed over the nightly kill. Skye's second's comments brought on a wave of grumbling and agreement in the group. The difference in their ethical code between the Blacks and Red wolf shifters had gone on for generations. Though not adversaries, the two different packs of shifters way of life. Drad, unlike his predecessor before him

Skye turned from her evening feed and jumped upon the jagged rock that helped diffuse the campfire's light to unwanted eyes. She arched her black body proudly and looked into the crowd. The she-wolf's blue eyes blazed in the campfire as she projected her thoughts into the group below. " _The Reds will not be allowed to subjugate the Blacks to their way under their leadership. We will defend our way and our land…. in battle if necessary. Are we agreed?_ " A harrowing echo of howls answered back into the pines and echoed again and again in the mountain ridges.

" _Ohhh, Skye_? " Jemma projected privately into the black wolf's head. " _She is breathing real heavy like and shivering."_

The blue eyed wolf closed her eyes and turned her mind's focus back to her cave. She drew into this connection she had discovered by accident and shivered momentarily despite her proximity to the fire's heat. " _She is scared, Jemma,"_ Skye answered back softly to her young cousin, " _the howls frighten her even in her sleep_." Skye reached into the green eyed one's mind and projected soothing thoughts. She was unsure that redhead would comprehend her projections, but she hated to leave her meeting only half finished to go to the cave. Especially when her pack was so worked up with the dark lust.

" _How is she now_?" Skye asked her older brother's cub.

" _Better, Skye_ ," Jemma answered.

" _Call again if you need me_ ," Skye reassured as she let out a loud guttural bellow that drowned the crowd's rage. Her cry's end silenced her brothers as she arched her back and projected in quick words. " _I have told Bobbi to double the guards. A scout has already been dispatched to follow the Reds' movements. Anyone have anything else to say, speak it now!_ " Skye ended making sure her blue eyes traveled to each of the clan who stood around the campfire.

An uneasy silence ensued. The only noise Skye heard was that of the night creatures and that of the occasional snapping of wood in the campfire. If she cocked her head just right, her pointed ears could make out the gentle snores of her blood bonded back in her cave.

" _What about the Nadirean_?" The ragged eared brown female named Nala spoke up. " _Has everyone here lost their senses so much thinking about the reds that they have forgotten we have a NADIREAN right in our own homes._ " Nala, snorted through his long nose loudly sending mucus spewing into the flames.

Skye's long frame extended through as she dived through the air. The sea of wolves parted as Skye's paws landed in front of her ragged eared wolf shifter sister. She glared at her brazen pack member with blue eyes of superiority.

" _Nala is right, our lives are now changed. Our way must be hidden from her for now. But this Nadirean carries the mark_." Skye ended her projection into her sister's minds turning away from Nala to stare at the pack. " _No one will see the girl except in their human form. No one!_ " Skye commanded.

" _How is she Skye_?" a young adolescent female interjected meekly. " _Will she live_?"

" _She should be dead, Sari_ ," Skye said softly. "I have given her a chance now. Her body now carries the healing powers of the Ulf blood, _"_ she ended in a whisper.

"It was the only way," Skye's Aunt Monica projected through the crowd. "She must live. She carries the mark of Ulf. Her blood now carries Skye's and Skye's carries the Nadirean's" Monica Wolf jumped upon the high rock with the ease of a youngster and looked down into the crowd. "This girl, Tasha of the Nadireans, and our, Skye are the same entity now… treat the Nadirean with respect of our code; if not you are no better than the Reds."

Whispers turned to silence. And silence into agreement as the clan adjourned to pass the rest of the night in rest in their dwellings. Skye was the last to leave the fire, staying on to ponder in its flames. So much had changed in such a short period of time. She had to protect her people and the way of her brothers and sisters. But now, she also was bound by blood to the small redheaded Nadirean who slept in her cave. Skye blinked her blue eyes and lost herself in the ebbing blackness.


End file.
